


aphrodite didn't mind

by bloominsummer



Category: K-pop, SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Established Relationship, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:29:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23454064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloominsummer/pseuds/bloominsummer
Summary: If home is a heartbeat, Mingyu can attest that he has found his. One night, surrounded by all the things he loves in life, he reminisces the path he travelled in his discovery of Wonwoo.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 18
Kudos: 231





	aphrodite didn't mind

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday, kim mingyu.
> 
> in case you get confused, past events are written in the past tense (hopefully I did not miss out on much while editing!)

“Hello,” Mingyu greets as he walks through the door.

At the sound of Mingyu’s voice, Wonwoo looks up from his laptop. Complete with the signature thin-rimmed glasses perched on his prominent nose and his dark mop of hair slightly damp from showering, he breaks into the most radiant smile Mingyu’s seen on anyone living.

“Hello, you’re here early.”

He’ll never get tired of that smile. It’s one of his favourite curves on Wonwoo’s entire being, second only to the arch his back forms as he chases the ultimate pleasure with the help of a lover.

As he strides across the room to reach him, Mingyu glances at the kitchen countertop and notices the splendid array of food. All courtesy to elder, no doubt. No matter how many times Wonwoo's shown him affection through the gesture of preparing dinner for the two of them, Mingyu still feels his heart swelling at the sight. 

Tonight, it grows a significant amount; the additional space instantly filled with more love for the man he wishes nothing more but to spend the remainder of his life with.

“Missed—” Wonwoo doesn’t get to say _you_ , because Mingyu is kissing him, licking hotly across the seam of his lips.

Wonwoo gives a satisfied sigh when Mingyu’s tongue finds its way inside his mouth, his fingers finding their natural purchase on the back of Mingyu’s shirt. The older man is clutching at him desperately, pulling Mingyu impossibly closer.

“Me too,” Mingyu admits when they part. He strokes Wonwoo’s shiny lips with his thumb, which immediately part beneath his wordless urging. “Me too.”

In response to his admission Wonwoo kisses his finger, then playfully bites it with his front teeth, slightly crooked and all kinds of perfect. 

“Happy birthday, love.” He kisses Mingyu’s palm next. “Do you want to have dinner first?”

It’s a rhetorical question, they both know it by now. They both have had enough time to learn and get used to each other's language, hidden meanings behind subtle words and quiet inquiries. 

“Or me first?”

Smiling, Mingyu dives in to kiss him on the lips again.

And again.

And again, as the two of them stumble their way into the bedroom, Mingyu’s arms around Wonwoo to protect his lithe body from bumping into their furniture.

* * *

For every happy ending, there is an equally awkward and unconventional beginning.

This is Mingyu and Wonwoo’s:

Wonwoo, at the beginning of his third decade on planet Earth, had the brilliant idea to refine his competence in life by picking up a new skill. Preferably something that wasn't related to negotiating business deals. What a great coincidence it was, that his secretary had casually brought up the topic of free classes offered at the community centre around the corner from their office. In particular: cooking classes. 

Mingyu, on the other hand, was navigating his 22nd year alive with slight difficulties. His advisor told him that he needed to lighten up his curriculum vitae with extra-curricular activities, which led him to the crude realisation that he didn't have much to offer prospective employers beyond a good academic record. 

A week into his wallowing, Mingyu stumbled upon an advertisement on his apartment building’s bulletin board. The community centre nearby was looking for volunteers to instruct a couple of home economic classes. Mingyu thought he’d try it out, since he already had a license for responsible service of food and alcohol.Though it had nothing to do with his linguistic degree, Mingyu knew cooking was the one thing he had always been undoubtedly good at.

Plus, Minghao said it was one of his better ideas. Minghao’s approval meant a great deal, considering he was one of the few functioning people Mingyu knew at that time.

So, that was where he saw Wonwoo for the first time. 

And it wasn’t one of those moments where their eyes met and they immediately fall in love at first sight. It was more like: Mingyu ended up having to use the fire extinguisher on Wonwoo’s personal counter because he had, for some reason, managed to set his vegetable stir-fry in flames. Wonwoo ended up staying an extra hour after class to help Mingyu clean up his mess and had apologised profusely for causing it in the first place.

“I’m so sorry,” Wonwoo said again, his voice quiet and shoulders hunched in. 

“It’s okay,” Mingyu told him for what must have been the nth time that afternoon.

“I was really excited about the stir-fry, too.”

Those words and the pout that came with it had successfully melted Mingyu’s heart, clawed at his defences until his walls had all crumbled down. 

“Then how about I make you some, Wonwoo-ssi?”

The beam that replaced the previous pout was so mesmerising Mingyu couldn’t help but reciprocate. He truly didn’t know what he was getting himself into, what it would mean bringing Wonwoo back to his place under the pretence of a simple dinner. 

A part of Wonwoo has always stayed with Mingyu after that day. Before long, he was already hoping Wonwoo would carry a part of him every day, too. He’d think about how nice that would be. More than nice, even, incredible might be a better word for it.

Truth be told—and this is the story they tell anyone who cares enough to ask—it only took Wonwoo half a spoonful of Mingyu’s stir-fry to fall in love with the younger. Though his mouth was still full of broccoli, Wonwoo wasted no time before he was begging for Mingyu to teach him how to cook. He claimed it was one of the essential skills he needed in his life that he hadn’t gotten the chance to acquire. 

Mingyu, forgetting his manners for a moment, couldn’t refrain himself from asking how does a single man living alone not know how to cook. He almost retracted his question from the way Wonwoo’s eyes went wide at the inquiry, but then the older man just offered him the truth.

“I’ve always had chefs… uh, cook for me.”

_Shit, dude’s rich_ , Mingyu thought.

He tried to hide his surprise behind a nonchalant shrug, though he doubted that his genuine reaction had escaped Wonwoo’s watchful gaze. “Why don’t you ask them to teach you?”

“Their cooking isn't this good.”

“I’m sure that isn't true,” Mingyu chuckled lightly, feeling at ease again. “But I appreciate the compliment.”

“It’s true,” Wonwoo insisted, his stubbornness emerging from the deep tone of his voice. “Sitting across from you like this, it’s the best meal I’ve had in so long. I feel like I’ve found a sanctuary.”

For a couple of heartbeats, Mingyu stopped breathing. Though he had just shared a personal detail with Mingyu, Wonwoo had not looked directly at him when he spoke, his gaze was instead averted down to his plate. This allowed Mingyu the freedom to absorb his details closely with minimal interruptions: from the peculiar fascination in his eyes to the small smile gracing his lips.

He had to be blind not to see how attractive the man in front of him was, but the choice of words Wonwoo presented took a firm hold in his soul. There was a hint of sadness in the way he said it, like all he wanted was for people to cook for him because they loved him and not because they were paid good money to do so. Mingyu had only known him for half a day at this point, but he thought loneliness made a poor companion for a certain Jeon Wonwoo.

“Okay,” Mingyu heard himself agreeing before he could think things through. There was that beam again, even more dazzling this time around. The corners of Wonwoo’s eyes crinkled beautifully. “I’ll teach you.”

_Terrifying—_ that’s the word he’d use to describe how natural and effortless it was for him to fall in love with Wonwoo after that day. 

He found himself constantly wanting to fulfil Wonwoo’s every wish.

When Wonwoo admitted he hasn't been to an amusement park for far too long, Mingyu immediately bought two tickets online and let go of his fear of heights just because Wonwoo held his hand the entire time they went on the rollercoaster. As absurd as it was to have two grown men screaming louder than the little kids seated behind them, Mingyu paid it no mind when Wonwoo thanked him with a smile so wide his eyes disappeared into crescent moons and his nose scrunched adorably.

When Wonwoo asked him what it felt like to date, because he was always so focused on his studies and maintaining his scholarship throughout college that he didn’t allow any kind of distraction in his life to experience such things, Mingyu said it felt like naturally gravitating toward the other person. Almost like how in Wonwoo’s spacious kitchen, the two of them always ended up pressing shoulders to shoulders.

Then it came the day when Wonwoo finally cooked his first dish without Mingyu’s help nor supervision. To show him how he had fared, Wonwoo texted Mingyu a string of pictures of the final result. That had broken the younger’s heart in more ways than one, a reaction he never thought he’d expressed upon Wonwoo’s success. 

It was just… the gravity of the situation.

It meant Wonwoo wouldn’t be needing his help any longer. 

It meant he wouldn’t have a reason to go see him anymore.

Except, before Mingyu’s mind could spiral further into his dark thoughts, Wonwoo showed up at his door at the break of dawn on the very next day.

In one trembling hand which was extended toward Mingyu, he clutched a box of homemade gimbap rather tightly. For all the charisma he had always naturally exuded up to this point, Wonwoo stuttered through his explanation for being there while doing his best to avoid the younger’s eyes. Mingyu decided right there and then to stop holding himself back. He pulled Wonwoo across the threshold by the lapels of his cashmere coat and slotted their mouths together.

That day, Minghao asked why he was staring at his lunch and grinning like a fool instead of eating it. Mingyu flipped him off first, then he told his best friend all the good things about Wonwoo.

Which had meant: everything.

* * *

“Drink up, baby.” Wonwoo presses a glass of cold water onto Mingyu’s flushed cheek. “Rehydration is important.”

The younger man is still lying stark naked on the bed, limbs spread out like a starfish, the hickeys scattered across his bronze skin resembling stars in the night sky. Mingyu knows that soon enough he’ll have to get up and fill himself with something other than Wonwoo—since nothing good ever comes out of skipping meals for sex—but for now he wants to stay just like this. With Wonwoo taking care of him, just like he always does. Gentle and so achingly careful, just like he always is.

He understands now, what Wonwoo had meant on the day the two of them met when he said he found a sanctuary. He understands the feeling perfectly well. It’s in the brush of Wonwoo’s lips against his forehead, the swipe of his tongue that collects the sweat at the base of his neck, the soft pads of his fingers caressing the flesh of his inner thighs, making him feel all warm and buttery.

It’s in the _I love you, Mingyu_ that he utters with no hesitation. 

It’s in every meal he cooks, every kiss he shares, every hug he offers.

Mingyu carefully takes the glass from him and says, “Thanks, daddy.” 

Wonwoo goes beet red— an instantaneous reaction. “I t-told you,” he sputters awkwardly, though Mingyu finds it absolutely adorable. “Not to call me that.”

“Hmm?” Mingyu takes a sip of the water. It soothes his throat, alleviates the rawness from taking Wonwoo’s length barely half an hour ago. “I don't recall ever having that conversation with you.”

“Should I remind you, then?” 

The seemingly dangerous edge to his voice is a stark contrast to the movement of his fingers over the base of Mingyu’s spine, applying slight pressure to the points where he knows Mingyu’s a bit sore. He’s attempting to massage some of the aches away in a silent apology to the younger. For what Mingyu truly doesn't know, it’s not like he has any protest over Wonwoo pinning him down on the mattress and fucking him into it until they both climax in unison.

Settling the glass on top of the drawer next to the bed, Mingyu turns his face to his lover. 

“Wonwoo.”

A hint of a discreet smile plays on the elder’s lips. _That’s better_ , it seems to say.

“Kiss me,” Mingyu asks.

As easily as the request had come, Wonwoo complies.

“You’re so pretty.” The praise is spoken against his jaw when they part, warmth instantly spreading across his face as he melts under Wonwoo. “So, so pretty,” Wonwoo tuts, which is how Mingyu know the act of worship is being done on purpose.

He whines quietly. 

“So good for me, too. Always good for me.” A kiss on his Adam’s apple, a light bite added on top, icing on the cake. “I am so lucky to have this all to myself.” His hand travels down Mingyu’s bare chest, resting right above his navel. 

Mingyu keens into the touch, he can’t help it. He can never help it when it comes to Wonwoo.

“You’re a universe, you know that? Not even _my_ universe, you’re just one. There’s this vastness about you, things I can’t begin to wrap my head around. Every time you show me something new I get amazed.” Wonwoo sucks in a sharp breath. “Do you know, Kim Mingyu, how it feels to fall in love every day?”

He begins to trail kisses down his sternum, following the path his hand had made earlier. 

“I never fall in love with you _all over again_ because no two days are ever identical. It’s always something distinctly unique each time, because that is how magnificent you are. How… perfect, you are.” Wonwoo murmurs the word _perfect_ against the jut of his hip, and oh how it fits there. How it belongs to be said there.

“Hyung,” he whispers, barely holding on to his last ounce of self-restraint. “Please, please.”

“My love,” calls Wonwoo, right before he moves to lick a fat stripe along Mingyu’s shaft. “The love of my life.” Mingyu feels the vibration of Wonwoo’s words against his erection, before Wonwoo swallows around him and he loses all ability to think. 

* * *

Mingyu thought drawing the short stick and ending up with the last shift on a Friday night was the worst thing that could happen to him as a part-time bartender, but that was before Wonwoo stepped inside the establishment with an equally gorgeous lady fitted into his side. 

They looked like they were made for each other.

To his credit, Mingyu didn’t drop everything in his hands to go hide in the wine cellar until Wonwoo was out of sight. He simply carried on with his duties with Seokmin by his side, working through the never-ending drink orders. Once in awhile, he’d make the effort to engage in small talks with those special customers who came for the companionship more than the alcoholic beverage. 

Wonwoo took an eternity to approach him. When he finally walked over to the bar, Mingyu wished he never did in the first place.

“Hey.” 

The greeting came way too lightly. Wonwoo must have known that Mingyu was working there that night, he probably knew the younger’s schedule like the back of his hand at this point. Him showing up here with another person was _meant_ to hurt, though Mingyu didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of showing him that he’d succeed.

“Hey, what can I get you?”

Wonwoo’s brows furrowed. It was out of Mingyu’s character to be this cold with him. He opened his mouth to say something, but the woman he arrived with caught up with him and placed a delicate hand on Wonwoo's forearm.

“Wonu-yah.”

That was an intimate nickname if Mingyu ever heard one. Even he had never addressed the older man anything other than _Wonwoo_ or _hyung._ Then, this person whose existence Mingyu was clearly not made aware of previously, came along and called him something different, something more _personal_ , and did so naturally. 

It could only mean one thing, there was no doubt about it. As the bitter realisation washed over him like the bucket of cold water his sister used to throw right at his face to wake him up from his slumber, Mingyu went through all the five stages of grief in about five seconds. 

Then he collected himself, pick up whatever pieces were left of his heart, and held his head high. Stared right at Wonwoo and refused to avert his eyes before the older man did.

Eventually, Wonwoo tore his gaze away from him for two seconds to face the young woman. “Seulgi, this is Mingyu,” he gestured to the younger. “He’s—”

Mingyu sensed what he was about to say before Wonwoo had the chance to get the words out, all the alarms in his head blaring at full volume. Wonwoo was honest to a fault at times, and there was never going to be a right time or place to admit that he’s involved with a guy almost ten years younger than him. 

“An intern,” he quickly spoke over Wonwoo, whose jaw muscles immediately tensed at the interruption. 

It's Wonwoo’s tell when he feels particularly frustrated. Though Mingyu might not know who this woman was to Wonwoo, at least he knew that much about him.

“At Mr Jeon’s company. I work here on the off days.”

“Oh my.” The woman, _Seulgi_ , smiled emphatically at him. The diamond necklace that graced her slender neck threatened to blind Mingyu if he looked at it for too long. “I hope you are getting enough rest in between everything.” 

The fact that she had said those words with no ounce of hostility made things even worse. At least if she were to be some kind of antagonist character, it would be much easier for Mingyu to despise her. But she didn’t look like one and he supposed Wonwoo wouldn’t have wasted his precious time with someone like that either.

There was only one person out of place in this scenario: Mingyu himself.

“Is this not a good time for you, Mingyu-ssi?” she asked when neither one of the two men seemed keen on continuing the conversation. 

Wonwoo was practically boring a hole into Mingyu's skull with the intensity of his glare.

Mingyu didn’t know what answer would be appropriate, and thank God he didn’t have to come up with one, because Seokmin called him over right then about an order mix up and Mingyu just politely excused himself. He failed to spot Wonwoo among the crowd when he finished sorting things out and resorted to ignorance when it came to the big, gaping hole the implications of that failure left in his heart. 

Wonwoo went home. 

With the woman from before. 

Huh.

Imagine his surprise, then, when he and Seokmin finished closing up and he went out the back to throw the trash only to find Wonwoo leaning against the grimy wall of the dark alley.

“What the fuck,” Mingyu exclaimed, jumping a little. “W—shit. Hyung? What are you doing here?” 

The older man was still dressed in the suit from earlier that night, looking like a million won and totally putting himself in a situation where he could get robbed. Or worse. 

Mingyu pinched the bridge of his nose and willed away the headache forming from the situation. Wonwoo looked devastatingly nervous, almost like he was about to do something he didn’t feel comfortable doing. 

He supposed he was one big fool for wanting to save the older man some pain, despite Wonwoo inflicting a whole lot of it on him just by standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets.

“I guess dinner is cancelled for tomorrow, huh?” Mingyu started off easy.

If there was one thing Mingyu learned about Wonwoo over the course of the six months he’s known him, it was that he hated delivering important information through the phone. The one explanation for his being here in the dead of the night: he wanted to break the bad news to Mingyu in person. Wonwoo failed to reply to him for a long moment and it became clear to Mingyu that he didn’t plan on easing into it.

So the younger took a deep breath and tried again.

“You don’t need to break up with me,” Mingyu told him carefully. There was an ounce of truth to his words. “But you didn’t need to break my heart, either.”

It was bound to end at some point. Their relationship wasn’t sustainable by any definition. Still, there were still much better ways of terminating their _contract_ than showing up at Mingyu’s place of employment with his replacement in tow.

“I broke your heart?” When he finally spoke, Wonwoo’s voice shook with disbelief. “I was going to introduce you as an important person to me, and you said you were _my intern_.” The disappointment that laced his words was as evident as the subdued anger behind his dark orbs.

Even in the deep of the night and the moon above them as the only source of illumination, Mingyu could tell how livid he was.

“You can’t go around telling people what we are,” Mingyu admonished him. 

Wonwoo was kind, but that kindness can sometimes extend to naivety. Though Mingyu was a wholly consenting adult, his career still demanded Wonwoo to uphold an unblemished reputation. On top of that, he also carried with him his family name. Mingyu’s fleeting presence in his life should never endanger that. He would have never forgiven himself if he ever played a part in undoing all the things Wonwoo’s given his blood, sweat, and tears to build.

“And what’s that? What we really are?”

“We…” Mingyu heard the sound his heart breaking rushing in his ears, but kept on marching anyway, “fool around. Sometimes.”

“Bullshit,” Wonwoo quickly spat in response. Mingyu reeled, as he had never seen him like that before. _Angry_. “You don’t mean that. You’ve never acted like we were just _fooling around_ and neither did I. If we were, I wouldn’t have meant for my sister to meet you.”

The air got knocked out of his lungs. “Your sister?”

“Seulgi,” Wonwoo nodded.

Mingyu’s knees wobbled from relief at the confirmation and he lost his balance, the trash bags suddenly felt boulder-heavy in his hand. Wonwoo was right in front of him in no time, wide palms steadying him by the hips and eyes quietly searching Mingyu’s face.

“You didn’t tell me—” What’s left of Mingyu’s heart pounded wildly inside his chest. “I didn’t know— _your sister_. Shouldn’t you have warned me?”

“You were the one you said you wanted to meet her,” Wonwoo reminded him, though his tone had returned to being gentle once again. 

He was right on that account, at least. Mingyu vividly remembered how one night their pillow talk wandered into the topic of family. When Wonwoo told him he had a sister who lived abroad, Mingyu had said _I’d very much like to meet her someday_ lightly, never expecting the day might actually come.

“So you brought your sister to meet me for the first time at work?” This part was still incomprehensible to Mingyu. “Don’t I deserve to at least make a better first impression?”

“What do you care?” Wonwoo challenged him, making Mingyu wince. “If we were just fooling around, why do you care what kind of impression you make?”

That was harsh, but it was fair. 

“You’re right.” He distanced himself from Wonwoo and moved to dispose of the trash bags into the bin. “We weren’t just fooling around. I said that because I’m scared out of my wits, because the alternative would be admitting that I’m actually in love with you, because then it would also mean I’d have to accept the fact that I can’t have you the way I want you.”

When he turned around to face Wonwoo, the older’s face was now split in a wide grin. 

“What?” Mingyu asked, confused.

“You love me,” Wonwoo said in awe. He made no effort in concealing his happiness— his being was bursting with the emotion, he was about to overflow any second now. “You love me.” 

Well. Mingyu did just admit to that, didn’t he? Of course, that was the only thing Wonwoo’s brain managed to retain from the entirety of his speech.

“I…” 

“You love me.” He repeated again, indirectly seeking verification. “You love me?” It was a question this time.

Mingyu looked at him properly; he watched hope dancing in Wonwoo’s eyes, noticed the crumpled hem of his jacket where he twisted the fabric in his fist while waiting for him. His face was slightly flushed, too— how long has he been waiting for Mingyu out in the cold like this?

“I love you.”

Wonwoo’s tongue escaped through the gap between his lips to wet them. “Ask me.”

“Ask you what?”

“The same thing,” he hurried Mingyu into it, so impatient, “ask me the same thing.”

For all that has changed with Mingyu since the day he met Wonwoo, the urge to follow to his every request still remained a constant. He gathered his courage from deep within himself and asks, “Wonwoo-hyung, you love me?”

“ _You_ are my safe haven,” Wonwoo replied in a rush of breath, then he was closing the distance between the two of them once again.

* * *

“You’re… exceptionally clingy tonight.” Wonwoo vocalises his observation as Mingyu engulfs him in an octopus hug, one leg thrown over Wonwoo’s body to secure him in his current position.

“Can’t I be?”

A warm hand pushes his bangs out of his face, then he’s being showered with small, close-mouthed kisses on his forehead, across his eyebrow, and finally his temple. 

“I didn’t say that. Was just wondering…” Wonwoo trails off.

“Wondering…?”

“If there was a prompt.”

“If there was a prompt,” Mingyu repeats after him, not quite understanding where Wonwoo is leading with his question.

“Yes. If it’s something I did right, you know? For future reference, so I can do it again.”

Wonwoo nuzzles Mingyu’s cheek with his nose before he beams down at him and gives him a small smile, somewhat shy. Mingyu angles his face up and Wonwoo quickly receives his signal, planting yet another kiss on Mingyu’s lips. His mouth is soft, like the rest of him is, and Mingyu feels Wonwoo’s fingers framing the line of his jaw when he closes his eyes to lose himself in everything that is Wonwoo.

“So?” Wonwoo asks again when they part.

Stubborn. Wonwoo remains the more stubborn one out of the two of them— some things don’t change with time, it seems. He clearly wants his answer and isn’t planning on giving up before he gets one that meets his satisfaction.

“I’m not sure,” Mingyu tells him honestly. “There's not any one thing in particular. It’s everything and nothing at the same time. It’s the culmination of the things you do to me, the feelings you invoke. The way your eyes light up when you see me, the wishes you grant me without me having to ask, the heaven I ascended to when I’m between your thighs.”

“Fuck,” Wonwoo exhales shakily. He presses himself closer to Mingyu, who simply basks in their proximity until— “Youth nowadays…”

The younger groans. “Not this again.”

“No one my age talks like that.”

“No one else my age talks like that either,” Mingyu refutes his flawed logic, “but that’s just because none of them has you.”

Wonwoo acquiesces at that. He gracefully accepts his defeat by keeping quiet and holding Mingyu tighter, letting comfortable silence befalls the two men. The older kisses the crown of his lover’s head and buries his face there, inhaling his familiar scent, while Mingyu presses his cheek against Wonwoo’s pectoral and listens to his heartbeat. They stay interlocked in an embrace until Wonwoo starts shaking with laughter.

Okay, to be fair, Mingyu’s stomach did growl super loudly to elicit such response.

* * *

“Did you pay off my rent?” Mingyu demanded as he bursted through the door of Wonwoo’s apartment, striding across the room to stand in front of his boyfriend.

Wonwoo looked surprised to see him a couple of hours earlier than planned, though he wasted no time in giving Mingyu an answer to his question.

“Yes, why?”

The younger crossed his arms across his chest. “I didn’t ask you to.”

“I know,” Wonwoo rose from his seat. He held his palms up toward Mingyu in a futile attempt to placate the situation. “Was that a mistake?”

“You don’t even think there’s anything wrong with that!” Mingyu exclaimed roughly, throwing his hands around in excessive gestures brought out by his frustration.

“It’s…” Wonwoo struggled to find the word and ended up saying the wrong ones. “It’s just money, Mingyu.”

At Wonwoo’s less than sufficient effort at acknowledging his mistake, Mingyu turned around and marched to the door. 

“Hey,” Wonwoo called out to him and rushed to get to his side. “Hey, hey.” He finally caught up to Mingyu, wrapping a careful hand around his wrist. “I’m sorry. I must have overstepped. Your reaction is completely valid.” 

Mingyu tried to regulate his breathing. 

Wonwoo must have sensed him lowering his guard because he tentatively carried on, “I don’t quite understand the matter, and I hope when your anger has subsided you’d be willing to talk to me about it, so I know what I’ve done wrong and won’t repeat it again, okay?”

He loosened his grip around Mingyu before letting him go completely.

“I’m sorry.” He looked right at Mingyu, eyes conveying his sincerity. “I never meant to upset you.”

Despite the shock he had felt when his landlord told him that it was all taken care of just as he was about to ask her for an extension, the anger that bubbled within him after she said his _handsome_ friend had taken care of it, the disappointment that crept up on him upon realising Wonwoo had gone behind his back— despite it all, Mingyu loved him a whole lot at this moment.

The younger moved in to hug him. Wonwoo made a small, confused noise at first, but he was quick to return Mingyu’s hug. His arms came to wrap around the younger’s middle, chin rested on Mingyu’s shoulder.

“Don’t pay for my stuff,” he told Wonwoo quietly. “And I will pay you back for the rent.”

“Okay,” Wonwoo agreed, hands finding their way to Mingyu’s nape. “May I know why?”

“I’m not here for your money.”

His voice was utterly soft when he said, “I hope I’ve never once done anything to insinuate that.”

Mingyu leaned away from him just enough so that Wonwoo could see him shaking his head in disagreement. 

“Not you, never you.” He wouldn’t have stayed if Wonwoo ever did anything of the sort. “But others might think that if they know you’re paying for my stuff. Like a sugar daddy.”

Wonwoo choked on air. “Excuse me? Like a _what_ now.”

“You heard me. Next thing I know you’d want me to slip into kinky stuff and call you _sir_ while you have your way with me or something.”

He started coughing. “ _Gyu_.”

“My God.” Mingyu leaned a little further away, feigning surprise. "You already want that, don’t you? Perverted old man.”

“Shut up,” said Wonwoo, though there was no heat to his words. “Okay, so here’s the thing. You’ve been working longer hours because you’re sending money home, aren’t you? To help your mom send your sister to college?”

Of course Wonwoo had picked up on that. People in a relationship are bound to notice things about one another. Besides, Wonwoo’s always been an attentive person. Even without Mingyu explicitly telling him, he wasn’t surprised that Wonwoo knew about this matter.

“And you don’t show it, but I know you’re tired. Minghao sends me pictures of you falling asleep in class all the time.” 

His boyfriend stroked his cheek with a gentle thumb and Mingyu instinctively leaned into the contact, warm and grounding. Letting his eyes fall shut, he focused on the feeling of Wonwoo’s skin against his, the sound of his voice in his ears, his ever-growing presence in his heart.

“I thought, hey, I can actually do something to help my partner out, lighten his load even if it’s just a little. I didn’t want your academic career to suffer over this.”

When he opened his eyes again, Wonwoo’s deep gaze locked him in place. His lover didn’t allow Mingyu any possibility of escape.

“That’s why I paid your rent,” he concluded. “You’ve supported me more in a thousand different ways and I can never put a price on that, Mingyu. I’m trying to do the same, but I understand that I’ll have to find a different way to show you I’m here for you from now on.”

_You’ve supported me more in a thousand different ways._

Had he, really?

Wonwoo’s encouraging smile told him _yes_.

“I’m sorry,” the older tried again, hand sliding over Mingyu’s nape again to caress the short hairs there. “Will you forgive me?”

Mingyu let out a tired sigh. It was hard to stay upset when Wonwoo decidedly held the world record for apologising. He had explained the intention behind his action clearly without guilt-tripping Mingyu for reacting the way he did. 

“Now I really want to wear kinky stuff for you.”

For his frank admission, Mingyu got a raised brow accompanied by the slight quirk of the right corner of Wonwoo’s mouth.

“Is that a yes…?”

He leaned down to kiss Wonwoo, pressing his answer over and over again over the lush swell of his lips until Wonwoo granted him entrance.

* * *

“Should we go on a trip soon?”

Mingyu just hums. Between the two of them, Wonwoo is the one with the tighter schedule. On the other hand, Mingyu would hop on an aeroplane _tonight_ if Wonwoo wants to have a getaway. Anywhere in the world, as long as he has Wonwoo next to him, is a prospect Mingyu can never refuse.

“Sure.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Busan?”

Eyes crinkling, Wonwoo shoots him an amused smile. “Busan, really?”

“I mean…” he lightly brushes his foot against Wonwoo’s calf under the table. “I just want to spend time with you.”

“We can go to Dubai.”

“Dubai? Suddenly?”

“I think you’d look absolutely beautiful under the horizon there. Golden sky, golden skin, golden smile.”

The expression Wonwoo wears as he says the words is one of pure tenderness, complete with the imperceptible crinkle of the corners of his eyes. Mingyu knows very well that inside his head, Wonwoo already has a vivid image of what that precise view would look like. 

When Wonwoo chuckles to himself, clearly delighted by his own imagination, Mingyu has half of a ridiculous thought: _You’re the sole owner of my heart_.

He juts out his lower lip in a way Wonwoo can’t resist. “You mean you don’t think I’m beautiful always?”

“No.” Wonwoo’s attention refocuses back on him. He gives Mingyu a gentle shake of his head, loose curls swaying around in his disagreement. “I just meant, I want to show you the world. And I… also want to show _you_ to the world. Does that make sense?”

“Here I thought it was my turn to be sentimental tonight.” 

“You have to teach me how to use your camera, though. So I can take pictures and videos of you, too.”

“Okay, I’ll show you how,” Mingyu agrees easily. Then, at the uncertainty painting Wonwoo’s face, he adds, “Don’t worry, old man, I promise it’s not that complicated.”

The comment is light, it holds no tangible weight, but something different passes over his lover’s features and—much to Mingyu’s dismay—stays there for longer than a moment.

“Do you mind it, even if it’s just sometimes?” Wonwoo asks quietly. 

He’s not looking at Mingyu anymore, not really, and the younger knows it’s a behaviour conducted on purpose. Mingyu swallows around his mouthful of chocolate pudding before he gives his answer. 

“Mind what?”

If he’s being truthful, he already has an inkling of what Wonwoo is talking about. Call it a gut feeling, an ability to read the other’s intentions that comes with time and practice. When Wonwoo clarifies his question, Mingyu is proven to be right once more.

“The fact that I’m older than you.”

He asks him this question from time to time, but never with any malice. It’s never posed as an accusation, like _you’ve been keeping things from me, haven’t you?_ Instead, it’s a softer version of an inquiry, like _baby, I’m sorry to be asking this so often, but I just need to confirm you’re not bothered by the age difference between us._ Each time he asks, Mingyu gives him a variety of answers, not just simple _yes’s._ He doesn’t want his response to sound recycled, wants Wonwoo to know that from the bottom of his heart, he loves him without thinking of numbers. Any numbers. 

“Why should I? Aphrodite didn’t mind when she sent Eros to loose his arrow on me.”

Wonwoo nurtures the quiet for a while.

“Won?”

He holds up a hand toward Mingyu. _Wait_ , that means. 

“Gonna need time to process how hot that sentence was coming out of your stupid, pretty little mouth,” he rubs a hand over his face, as if their little exchange just now exhausted him completely. “Give me two to three business days, please.”

“Alright,” Mingyu chuckles, eyes glued back to his little cup of heaven. “Better hurry up before your dick stops functioning. Then who’s gonna fuck me? I’d have to do all the work by myself.” He pauses right here for dramatic effect. “Wait, actually, I already do. You just sit there and stare at me in awe and call me pretty, nothing else.”

He gets a spoonful of pudding flicked on his face and silently wonders which one of them is actually younger. Mingyu licks the bit that lands on the corner of his mouth clean.

“What about you? Do you mind it?”

This is part of the routine, too. Mingyu gets to ask him back the question. In the early days, Wonwoo would say _yes_ , because they don’t make it a habit to tell the other anything less than the truth. Wonwoo would say, _I’m worried that you’ll wake up one morning and see all the ways we don’t fit_. Wonwoo would say, _I toyed with the possibility of us not being together and it put me out of commission for days_. Wonwoo would say, _I’m learning not to_.

Tonight, he says, “Not anymore.”

“Good.”

When he leans over the table to kiss Wonwoo on the lips, Mingyu suspects the _full_ feeling that emerges within him has less to do with the food in his stomach and more with Wonwoo's warm hand sneaking beneath his shirt to trace the muscles of his abdomen.

* * *

He opened the door to his childhood bedroom and heard the quiet sobs more clearly. Wonwoo sat on the floor, back against the edge of his bed and knees brought up to his chest. Mingyu’s heart relocated to his feet at the sight— it was the first time he’s ever seen Wonwoo like this. It’s the last time he’d ever want to see him like this.

“Baby, are you… crying?”

“No.” Wonwoo sniffed into his monogrammed handkerchief, shaking his head slightly. “Yes.”

With care, he navigated himself around the room until he was sitting down next to the older. He didn’t immediately make a move to touch Wonwoo though he desperately ached to— didn’t know whether it was something his boyfriend would want. 

“What’s wrong?”

If one of his aunts had said something ugly to Wonwoo at dinner, there would soon be a throw down in the Kim household and Mingyu might not even have to lift a finger. All of the ladies seemed to be at their best behaviour today, though, Mingyu knew his mother made sure of that. She and her iron fists around their family members were all the filter they needed for malicious comments about Wonwoo’s age and status. 

Wonwoo blew more snot into the handkerchief.

“Your dad called me _son_.”

Some of the pressure put on his heart from Wonwoo’s tears was instantly relieved. Mingyu felt lighter now that he knew they were out of the dangerous zone.

“Oh, wow.” Mingyu bristled in understanding. He’d teared up so bad the first time Wonwoo’s mother hugged him, too. “Yeah, okay. Totally a tear-jerker. Wanna hold my hand?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’m just… overwhelmed.” Wonwoo straightened his legs and brought their joined hands together to rest above his thigh. “God, this is embarrassing. I’m an adult.”

“Adult men cry, too, Wonwoo.” 

Wonwoo gave him a small nod to show his agreement with Mingyu’s words. “I guess I’ve always thought I’d be hard for others to accept us. I mean, your dad must want the best for you and I might not seem like the best you can do to him, you know? I was ready to fight for you and prove how much… ah.” 

The tears came back again, forming twin waterfalls this time around, and they cut Wonwoo’s ability to speak completely.

“He knows,” Mingyu rubs the back of Wonwoo’s hand to soothe him, calm his nerves. “How good you are for me. How good I want to be for you. How much better we become around each other. My mother knows, too, she literally said she’d remove me from her will if I ever lose you.”

Wonwoo huffs at that, smiling a little through his tears. 

“She was like, _you’re not going to find someone better, baby, please put a ring on that before whatever spell you put Wonwoo under wears off_. How rude, right?”

There was a hum, quiet and low.

“I better take her advice, hm. What do you think?”

“I think—” Wonwoo hiccuped. He struggled to find his words. “I think, you should kiss me right now.”

Salt coated his tongue when he did exactly that: map the sharp contours of his face with his mouth until Wonwoo’s cries melted into exultant giggles and he put an end to Mingyu’s persistent attack only to properly make out with him.

It didn’t last long. Wonwoo halted all his movements when he felt Mingyu’s half-hard dick pressed against his own. He immediately started telling Mingyu off on the general inappropriateness of the situation. _Your father’s downstairs! He just called me his son, I can’t defile his real one barely an hour later!_ The older kissed Mingyu one last time before he pulled him off the floor, soft and careful and very heavy with love, and the younger gave in. As he wound his arms around Wonwoo and tugged him into an embrace, Mingyu thought about how good it would be if he could do this for the remainder of eternity.

* * *

“Good morning.”

Wonwoo emerges from the bedroom, all dressed and ready to start his day. Mingyu’s brewed him coffee in his reusable cup and packed him lunch. Well, it’s really just some leftovers from last night, but it’s always the thought that counts the most. The purple takeaway bag waits for Wonwoo atop the kitchen counter.

Mingyu’s still only half-awake, the mug filled with tea held close to his face, warmth tickling his nose. The only response he gives Wonwoo is an, “Mhhmm.”

“I’ve got to go, budget meeting at 9— definitely not one of my best decisions.” Wonwoo bustles around the living room for his keys and wallet. “Today’s your day off, yeah?”

“Hmmh.”

“Good. Don’t forget you need to finish editing the new chapters. They’re due soon, right?”

“Hmm,” is all Mingyu says to that.

Wonwoo doesn’t seem to mind the lack of reaction, for he simply ruffles the already dishevelled mop of hair on Mingyu’s head and presses a kiss to his temple before walking to the door. 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

The older man turns around and blinks slowly at Mingyu before his features morph in a display of fondness toward his lover. Wonwoo makes his way back to where Mingyu’s sitting on the couch and bends over to kiss him. Wonwoo takes his sweet time doing so, he kisses Mingyu all languid and unhurried. Despite rushing to get to work just a few moments ago, he seems to consider kissing Mingyu an activity worthy of being late for. 

Mingyu deepens the kiss, tilting his head for a better angle and nips carefully at Wonwoo’s lower lip, passing on the jasmine flavour of the tea from his tongue onto Wonwoo’s. The plain golden band on Wonwoo’s ring finger is strikingly cold against his cheek but he chooses to lean into it instead, anchors himself on the sensation and the reminder it brings: that this is real and it’s meant to last forever.

“Satisfied?” Wonwoo leaves him with one last, chaste peck when he pulls away.

“I was talking about your file with all of your important numbers for today’s meeting in them,” Mingyu cheekily points to the plastic folder above the coffee table. “But thanks. I’ll see you tonight, _sir_.”

Wonwoo straightens his posture and hastily checks the state of his suit. His face is devoid of any embarrassment, but the tips of his ears are bright pink. _How cute_.

He moves away to retrieve his folder and Mingyu would have to be blind not to notice how he’s a little awkward with his movement. _Oh_.

“You got hard,” Mingyu notes casually, deliberately ignoring the fact that the warmth he feels inside him is more because of Wonwoo than the tea he is sipping.

Wonwoo whines. “Shut up.”

“We can browse some websites for new bikinis tonight,” he adds as Wonwoo walks to the kitchen area to get his lunch bag before he makes his escape.

The whine goes up one pitch. “Stop it, seriously.”

“What are you gonna do? Spank me?”

Wonwoo swivels around to glower at him.

Though Mingyu lives for teasing the hell out of him, he supposes it won't be good for Wonwoo to lead a meeting half-hard and thinking about ways to wreck Mingyu in bed instead of ways to minimise company expenditures. There is always time for everything, and time they've got plenty. Wonwoo's pledged him his forever, after all, and Mingyu did the same in return. 

So he accedes to Wonwoo's silent plea. “Alright, alright.”

He waits until Wonwoo's smile return to his eyes and he turns around to really make his leave until he throws in one last jab. “But for real though, do you want me to call you _sir_ on the regular?” 

In response, Wonwoo slams the door so hard on his way out that the whole place shakes. 

Mingyu picks up his phone to text Wonwoo the question.

**You**

is sir a go or a no go?

and should i put underwear shopping in our to-do list tonight??

or?????

???

helloooooo

**love of my life**

Don’t you think I’d look good in lace panties?

For a change?

**You**

gdi won now i have to jerk off solo

again

what kind of husband are you

**Author's Note:**

> [in the case that you're Indonesian and is looking to aid in COVID-19 prevention & treatment](https://twitter.com/FFL_Project)
> 
> find me on: [twt](https://twitter.com/bioominsummer/status/1246815267805528066?s=20) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/bloominsummer)


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